don't judge an athlete by their jersey
by ofmermaidsandmarauders
Summary: Lily swipes left on James. He wants a second chance outside of Tinder, since she seemed so unimpressed by his dating profile.


Left. Bad eyebrows.

Right. What a smile.

Right. Wow his cheekbones.

Left. Athlete.

Left. Fisher.

Left. Fisher.

Hard Left. A dead deer in his profile? Absolutely not.

Left. Athlete.

Left. Group photo.

Left. Fake Model Account.  
Left. Athlete.

"Wow, quite choosy. So that's a hard no on that last one?"

Lily was about to scold the man to her right for being so nosy and invading one's personal space. She had her mouth open and finger pointed when she took in the mop of unruly hair that fell against his forehead and her finger quickly fell back to her lap. She could feel her cheeks going warm as she slowly closed her mouth, trying to figure out the nicest way to explain that it was nothing personal. Except how do you explain that to a stranger that you just said no to, essentially, with no known information other than a few photographs that he had chosen to identify himself with.

"So, assuming by your silence it is a hard no?" The man whose name she's pretty sure was Jake asked.

"Listen, it's nothing against you. I just have a strict no athlete policy. They generally don't have respect for women and it's easier just avoiding them than trying to find the rare ones who do. So although I am sorry Jake-" Before Lily can finish her sentence, she's being cut off.

"James."

"What?" She questioned, her eyebrows shooting up out of confusion.

"It's James. You said Jake. My name is James. So it appears that although it's nothing personal, you couldn't even have the human decency to memorize a person's name before saying no based on a few photos. Did you even read the bio?" James' left eyebrow arched up in an incredibly intimidating way and Lily at least had the nerve to look sheepish.

"Well, no, but as I mentioned... No athletes. So I'm sorry, James, but it truly is nothing personal."

"You say that, and yet you're personally labeling me as an athlete without taking into consideration the fact that I'm also much more than that!" James looked flustered as he rifled through his own bag, seemingly searching for something before pulling out the newest iPhone, then pulling out his own Tinder. "Now, if you'd take a moment, let's really peruse my profile here, Lily. See. I remember a name."

Lily was genuinely shocked as he began to swipe through his pictures, showing her the profile that he had set up. After the three pictures of him in various sporting uniforms, he had a picture of him holding a kitten, and then one of him with three other boys. They all had their arms around each other and were wearing ridiculous animal headbands.

"See, I have more dynamics than just athlete. I'm a cat dad. I'm a really good friend. I've got a tight knit family. I think you shouldn't just be judging a book based on its cover." He raised an eyebrow before she finally felt like she had two legs to stand on.

"James, the whole point of this app is to judge based on a few pictures. Maybe some silly little sentences written to try to capture someone's personality. Although usually it just says likes pizza and then has their snapchat name for nudes but still! The whole point of Tinder is to judge based on appearances." Lily's argument wasn't the most solid, but the confidence she spoke with made it seem more so.

"So, let's do this not on Tinder? Let's not go based on appearances. Give me your number and let me have before the end of the year. One week. New Year's Day. If I can't convince you to go out with me, then you can go back to your no athletes rule but at least let me try to convince you to change your mind. I believe I'm owed that chance," he pleaded, holding his phone out with the contacts open, ready for hers to be added.

"I don't owe you anything, seeing as you've been so nosy!" She exclaimed, though after a moment she sighed and then took the phone from his hand, adding her number in. "One week."

"Perfect timing. That's my section being called. See you soon." James grinned and slung his bag over his shoulder as the business class section was called to board. He had one week to convince her. Luckily, she didn't think it was going to happen. She just had to put up with the cocky, annoying, nosy man from the airport for one week.


End file.
